Rawalpindi Tehsil

Rawalpindi is a tehsil - an administrative subdivision - of Rawalpindi District in the western part of the Punjab province, Pakistan, it contains the district capital - the city of Rawalpindi.

History

Ancient History

Archaeological remains found on the site of the city of Rawalpindi date the establishment of settlements there to ancient times. There are ruins of a Buddhist settlement contemporary to the more celebrated ruins at nearby Taxila. It is thought that a Hun raid destroyed the first city.

Ghakkar Rule

The Muslim ruler Mahmud of Ghazni gifted the ruined city to a Ghakkar chief, Kai Gohar. Because it was vulnerable to invaders, the town remained deserted until another Ghakkar chief, Jahanda Khan, restored it and named it Rawalpindi (after the village Rawal).

Sikh Rule

Rawalpindi remained under the rule of Ghakkars until Muqrab Khan, the last Ghakkar ruler, was defeated by Sikhs in 1765. Under Sikh rule, traders were invited to settle in Rawalpindi. A thriving trade was established, but during the nineteenth century the Sikhs lost the city to the British, who established a cantonment south of the old city.

British Rule

In 1879, the Punjab Northern Railway was extended to Rawalpindi. The train service was formally inaugurated on January 1, 1886. It housed the Headquarters of Northern Command of the British Army until 1947, and thereafter the Headquarters of the Pakistan Army.

The tehsil was described in the Imperial Gazetteer of India as...
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